Weaks relishes the challenges of farming

Published 3:04 am, Friday, December 12, 2014

Gary and Cathey Weaks have spent nearly 45 years on the farm together as producers near Silverton.

Gary and Cathey Weaks have spent nearly 45 years on the farm together as producers near Silverton.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Weaks relishes the challenges of farming

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Editor’s Note:

The following sponsored content is a continuation of the Farmer Friday series which spotlights a local producer. This week's article is sponsored by Ray Lee Equipment.

It’s the feeling of a job well done that is made tangible every time farmer Gary Weaks steps off the tractor and sees a newly plowed field.

“It’s a wonderful feeling at the end of the day when you look across a field and see what you’ve accomplished,” said Weaks, who farms in the Swisher County Rock Creek area.

And it’s that feeling of attainment that has kept Weaks plowing every spring for more than 45 years.

Still working on the farm that he was raised on, Weaks comes from a long line of producers from both sides of his family.

His grandfather on his dad’s side was Abner Weaks who farmed out of Brownfield. Abner married Olga Kimbrough, who also came from family with deep farming roots in 1911.

On his mother’s side, Gary’s grandfather was Buck Wesley, a well-known farmer in the Wayside area.

Further down the line, Gary’s great-grandparents were George Washington and Mary Jane Weaks, who farmed in the Vigo Park area of Swisher County, as well as Lee Kimbrough who farmed in Muleshoe.

Brought up by Oscar and Elvira Weaks, Gary said he was constantly working and learning on the farm.

“I drove a Ford tractor in front of a planter during the summer when I was in the first grade; I haven’t stopped since,” Weaks said. “I was on a tractor every summer from then on.”

What the Weaks family planted varied with what was strong that year and rotated among king cotton, sorghum, corn and wheat.

Watching his parents working to make means for their family, Weaks said he learned many valuable lessons, including the value of seeing things through.

“If you fail, don’t let it be because you didn’t try,” Weaks said.

Weaks graduated from Tulia High School in 1968. From there, he attended Lubbock Christian University with aspirations of majoring in mass communications. It was also at LCU that Weaks met his future wife Cathey.

However in 1970, Weaks said his father took a nasty fall off a tractor and was incapacitated for six weeks.

Needing to bring in the harvest, Weaks rushed back home to tend to the family farm. Alongside his brother Victor, who was still attending high school, the family worked long hours to catch up and bring in the yields of the season.

The familiar work stuck with Weaks as he enjoyed returning to life on the farm.

“I love to see the resurrection of the seed as it comes out of the ground,” Weaks said.

But Weaks said he really enjoyed the challenges that farming provided throughout year; new challenges that made life anything but boring for the farmer.

“No two operations are alike, just like no two years are the same. You have to learn to be flexible. And I like that challenge,” Weaks said.

Weaks was hooked and stayed on the family farm, eventually marring Cathey.

The couple raised three children, Rob, Leslee and Lindsey.

The two are active members of the Church of Christ in Silverton, and Weaks is a former Precinct 2 Briscoe County Commissioner.

Though the early years of farming did have many difficulties, Weaks says he’s grateful for local citizens who helped this family overcome some deep challenges. He was also grateful for the support of his wife during lean years of farming.

“I couldn’t have done it without Cathey. She is unbelievable,” he said.